We've cruised Celebrity several times, and while the official formal night is no more, everyone is welcome to dress up, tux's and gowns, any night. A lot of the staff really like the formal wear on the ship...it does bring a touch of class and elegance to the evening, and we love it too. Celebrity does have a dress up night, two on longer cruises, so you will never be out of order when dressed in your finest. I bring my tux and the wife brings several gowns on every cruise...

We are with you on that one, but it appears we all are part of an endangered species. Haw. This used to be a hotly debated subject but not so much anymore as most lines have abandoned formal. There is no question, most guests appear to prefer no formal nights at all, roughly 70% do and 30% want to keep it. For us, it hearkens back to the days of yore, days of romantic ocean travel which many yearn for the return thereof.

We have only cruised on HAL, Princess and Regent. No more HAL for us now and for a bit it looked like Princess was just about to do away with formal as well, now I'm not sure, so we still use Princess. Regent has even went the casual route, however they are a little different due to their ample number of tables for two in every venue allowing one to feel a little bit more comfortable dressing up regardless of the dress code.

I'm still looking hard at other lines, but not much luck yet, we were checking out Celebrity for a while but then they went with the anything you want to wear code so we pitched all their brochures. When they did that I had to laugh at one exchange on their forum: One guy in posted: "I certainly won't miss "Formal" nights or the judgmental posts on these boards. Does the way the guy next to you is dressed really affect your ability to enjoy your cruise? Sit back, pour the wine, raise a glass to the good ol' days and enjoy the dinner you didn't have to cook." A lady responded: "I also don't have to cook at McDonalds - doesn't mean I want to eat there. And NO - I don't want to wear a formal evening gown at the same table while you are in jeans. What a joke that makes for all." So, if Princess goes the way of Celebrity and HAL, it appears to me that Cunard will be the last formal line standing.

In order to cope with all this, the first order of business for us, after boarding, is to make reservations in the specialty restaurants on all formal nights, table for two only. That has allowed us to enjoy what a formal night is all about and avoid any potential hassle that the MDR might subject us to, as more and more frequently while trying to eat dinner in the MDR we sit there waiting and watching a harried flurry of activity by the understaffed help forging a losing battle trying to keep up. Makes dressing up in my tux on formal nights and trying to dine there a joke.

It appears to me that the entire industry is currently playing coy with this issue in order to have it both ways. Heretofore dress codes were described something like this: "On festive formal evenings, women usually wear cocktail dresses or gowns and men usually wear business suits or tuxedos. In order to complement your fellow guests, we ask that you observe the suggested dress code throughout the entire evening." So, guests dressed inappropriately while sitting with others in formal garb felt guilty. Now, the language runs something more like this for the same evening: "For gentlemen, collared shirts and slacks are required in all fine dining restaurants. (Note: short sleeve polo shirts are the minimum dress with this standard)" No more guilt.

Celebrity has something called "evening chic", so I think it is intended to have folks dress up somewhat while not discouraging those who prefer to remain casual. We will continue to step up to formal and let others follow our lead rather than step down and remain casual. We dress for each other and enjoy being comfortable in our formal garb. Not just for dinner, but we love dancing as well, so we will continue to the dance venues in formal dress. We do waltz but we also disco, two step, whine'n and chip'n, polka and even square dance.

Going out formal isn't just the clothes you wear, it's an appreciation of all aspects of life, and sometimes that does include the finer side. We get along with everyone, so rather than just giving up the formal side, why not join us just once and get a feel for it. It's not snobbish to be dressed up, it's allowing you and your partner to feel fine...

I've been on Cunard's QM2 and HAL's Eurdoam. QM2 had 2 formal nights back in '08, and I just recently did Eurodam in August, and doing another this week. Each night at sea are considered "Dress up" nights for dining. I enjoy it as it does bring back the elegance of ocean travel. Just wish more people would dress up on flights instead of looking like they just crawled out of bed, or leaving the gym! LOL

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